Asteroids with companions

[CalliArcale]

SPACE.com has a cool article about asteroids with companions:<br />Tally of Asteroids Harboring Moons Grows Beyond 30 <br /><br />I found it while reading the link Philotas provided about Pluto's newly discovered moons. It prompted me to go looking for a list of asteroid companions, and I found this. I thought I'd share it with folks. Asteroids with moons are very interesting to me. They're a great example of how startling, extraordinary, and just plain wonderful our universe can be. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Asteroids With Satellites<br /><br />The list is surprisingly long. I honestly hadn't realize that this many satellites had been discovered. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[vogon13]

I was unaware the Jupiter Trojan Patroclus was binary.<br /><br />No asteroidal satellites of Jupiter (or any other gas giant) were listed as being accompanied. But I have suspected they will be in a similar percentage to that of the Jupiter Trojans. I'm not sure any systematic search is underway, though.<br /><br />Appreciate the 'heads up' about this.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[jmilsom]

That is a great article Calli; and posted three years ago! We were querying whether any of the gas giant moons had moonlets in the long discussions on your Iapetus thread, and it seems now probable that this could occur. I imagine the gravitational environment around a gas giant moon would diminish the potential lifespan of such a body as compared to one orbiting an asteroid. I agree with you sentiment - how wonderful our solar system is turning out to be! Not just nine planets with a few moons, but a dynamic, colourful, diverse planetary enviroment! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[mpai]

I must agree with jmilsom, it was a great article CalliArcale. The Double Asteroid link was mind blowing.<br /><br />Thanks